Get your Game on

How many times have you passed by someone playing a video game and you thought to yourself that they were just being lazy? Well t seems you do not know the whole truth. There are many good reasons why being a gamer is great.

We get the best tech, first

Games are often used to pioneer tech. The PS2, for example, was a cheap DVD player when that technology was just starting out. Ditto for PS3 and Blu-ray. While a game console’s primary purpose is to play games (insert ironic joke / bitter comment about how Xbox One is more concerned with adverts / data collection here), they often bring us incredible, innovative extras way ahead of the mass market. Xbox 360, for example, brought us HD long before most TV providers even considered it.

Games work whatever the weather

I live in Great Britain. It rains here, a lot. Perhaps that’s why we–as a nation–love games so much. Unlike more socially acceptable hobbies like jogging, playing sports, and performing impromptu flashmobs outside the local Budgens, gaming doesn’t require any interaction with the outside world. Just a console / PC, a power supply, and a decent supply of snacks.

Before you think about winning there a couple things you need to understand. First of all winning will not be easy until you explore. The designers spent a good amount of time making game therefore winning is equal to knowing every corner.

Designers want you to explore

Game development studios employ huge teams of artists and designers to build vast interactive worlds – they don’t want you to rush through them. When you’re playing an action adventure or shooting game, unless there’s a clock ticking down in the corner of the screen, take your time and thoroughly investigate the environment.

Even if the proceeding cinematic sequence featured a desperate space marine telling you to get your sorry ass to the spaceship because it’s about to take off, just relax. The game designer actually wants your sorry ass to have a good look around – because they spent two years of their life building this place.

Patterns are there to be broken

Most games are pattern systems – the challenge is in working out the patterns of the world and breaking them. Enemy soldiers will have patrol routes, and computer-controlled race drivers, fighters and athletes will have identifiable skills and quirks.

When you enter a new level, race or event, spend time working out these systems and how to exploit them. Essentially, every confrontation in video games is like a round of rock, paper, scissors – you work out which of these that your opponent is using, and you employ the technique that beats it.

Gaming is now a source of income. Yes that person whom you just busted for being lazy playing is actually earning. There are those who earn a six figure salary and for you to be a pro then there are certain things you need to do.

eSports has exploded worldwide, and with it, there’s an entire class of 15-30 year olds who now play games for a living. Out of the millions that play titles like Starcraft, Halo or League of Legends, they’ve gotten so good that many can make a full-time living out of gaming. The top few players in the world even pull in six figure salaries between sponsorships, team salaries and tournament winnings.

1. Practice

It might be nice that you get to play a game you love and think you’re pretty good at. But do you love it enough to play it six, seven, eight hours a day, every day? Because that’s what it takes if you even want a prayer of being a pro. The top players have a regimented practice schedule against competitors at or above their own level, as it’s the only way to truly advance in skill. Make sure you’re constantly playing with people who are better than you, as it’s the only way you’ll grow as a player.

2. Keep Your Day Job

It’s always good to have a back-up plan, and I would not recommend anyone drop out of school or quit their current job until they have at least SOME indication they can make money and support themselves by gaming. If you’ve won some tournament prize money, or your stream gets a decent amount of ad dollars, you can look to start scaling back your everyday activities, but cutting them cold turkey from the beginning is a risk you should not be taking.